Arrival to the Firefly Summer Camp
Arrival to the Firefly Summer Camp is the second chapter of Don't Let the Darkness Consume You. It was published on December 11, 2019 on Wattpad. Synopsis A new place has been sighted in the eyes of the Liars Club, vowing to change the dark vision of society. As they connect to the wonders of the place, they will discover that something worse than ghost stories is the past itself coming for you. Plot I. In the morning, the Liars Club (Matthew Barton, Ashley Murray, Casey, William Sullivan and Jay Ambrose) are reunited in the center of Los Angeles, with Matthew telling them that he will call the people for jobs according to the list he created, and that if they see something strange, they should act natural. While Matthew went to the payphone, a terrorized and shivering Mary Jane Fitzgerald arrived to the center of Los Angeles, encountering the Liars Club. She explains the attack at the hands of The Night Stalker, which shocks everyone. Ashley tells Jane that everything will be okay and that Matthew is trying to find a job for the group to start their "Summer Holiday Takeover". Meanwhile, Matthew receives a call from a extroverted and shameless camp director named Barclay Wayans, owner of the Firefly Summer Camp. He claims to know the Liars Club since the beginning and offers Matthew jobs for his group as camp counselors. Matthew accepts and Wayans tells him that they meet at the camp before the night falls. Matthew tells the good news to the group and they say their motto. While going to the van, Mary Jane starts to hallucinate again, sighting visions of The Night Stalker, which worries Ashley. II. During the travel, with 43 miles missing, the Liars Club are enjoying consuming their "encouraging temptations", which are joints, poppers, and other substances. Mary Jane got another series of hallucinations, when the Night Stalker assaulted her. While Ashley, William and Jay try to encourage her, Matthew stops the van in a gas station located in the town of Willow's Bell, California. The gas station attendant discovers Mary Jane to be the daughter of Alan and Janet Fitzgerald, and consoles her. Meanwhile, Matthew notifies Wayans that they are close to arrive, but Wayans tells Matthew to go fast enough before night. When the gas station attendant also notices the Liars Club are headed to the Firefly Summer Camp, he warns the group about the legend of "The Willow's Bell's Rattlesnake", but tells them that he will not stop them. After leaving, the group discuss about the sayings of the man. III. After arriving to the Firefly Summer Camp, Barclay Wayans arrives and receives the Liars Club. He encourages them to not bring their backpacks during a tour around the camp, and let the staff do it for them. Wayans takes them on the tour and explains the rules more further for the security of the inner light. Wayans said that the Fox cabin is for the girls, while the Owl cabin is for the men. After Mary Jane told Wayans that she will be the nurse, Wayans congratulates her for volunteering. After Wayans told them that the kids are coming in two days, and let them be free to be prepared for the Initial Ritual, the members of the Liars Club went inside their respective cabins. IV. At Misty Vale Asylum, a facility for the criminally insane, the doctors are giving the rations and meds for the patients. After noticing that the patient of the door N°50 didn't took his rations, an orderly enters the cell and finds out the patient down in a small pool of blood. He is taken to the hospital for medical attention. The director, Dr. Walter Dunn, reveals that the inmate's name is Henry Smith, who is known as the Willow's Bell's Rattlesnake. He instructs a nurse that after he is medically cleared, he will get a electroshock treatment again. However, while taken to the hospital, Henry assaults the paramedics and drives the ambulance to the Firefly Summer Camp. V. During the Initial Ritual, the counselors gather around a fire, so they would be ready. Barclay Wayans tell the counselors to describe their past lives. Ashley started by saying that she was fascinated with building structures, to the point of helping many people by bringing materials and food to make the poor prospere. Nick tells that the sites of massacres like the murder of Sharon Tate in 1969, inspired him to find a way to stop them. William said that he was seen by his parents as a elite-tier runner, so he was forced by his father to become a runner and train hard. Matthew reveals that he was inspired by the book "The Art of Corruption and Lies", created by his father and founder of the Liars Club, Thomas Barton, to start his mature publicism career and also continue his legacy. Jay described his life while being in a fraternity called "The Alpha and Omega" in high school, whom he described a troubled part of his life. Before Mary Jane would have told her story, she started suffering another pair of hallucinations, this time, of the Stone couple. After getting asked by Wayans if she was alright, Mary Jane reveals that her biological parents died in the 1962 Arlington massacre after abandoning her for her safety, and that she grew with a burden of sadness after knowing she was adopted by the Stone couple. Despite that, she still recognizes that the couple took care of her in the baddest moments until they passed away. After Wayans consoled her, he revealed a story surrounding the woods of the camp. He tells that he is a survivor who had a near death experience while being presumed dead in a massacre that happened in the Firefly Summer Camp ten years ago, caused by Henry Smith, who was a close worker of Wayans. He was the star witness at Smith's trial after he was caught. Wayans later tells the counselors that they must overcome the past to have a great future. Quotes * Barclay Wayans to Matthew Barton: "I'm a big fan of that group, I have heard how good you are with the people, and that is the most important thing in the Firefly Summer Camp". * Mary Jane Fitzgerald: "I am seeing the Night Stalker everywhere, as if he was following me without physically persecuting me". * Damien about Henry Smith: "The Rattlesnake ... a monster among men". * Barclay Wayans to Ashley Murray, Casey and Mary Jane Fitzgerald: "Believe me, sometimes when you have a different personality from society, they reject you for who you are. That's why I opened this place, so that we can be all together". * Walter Dunn to a nurse: "These people have no dignity, they already lost it when they committed their crimes. You'll believe me when he tries to escape from the place". * Jay Ambrose to Barclay Wayans: "I'm used to taking a lot of punishment, thanks to a test where I had to walk while giving me lashes with belts". * Barclay Wayans to Mary Jane Fitzgerald: "I understand that feeling of... losing everything. But you know... when a door closes, there will always be one that opens. And I think this is the best time to enter that door, along with your friends". Cultural References * Bray Wyatt's Firefly Fun House - The name of the Firefly Summer Camp and Barclay Wayans are a reference to Bray Wyatt and his segment known as the Firefly Fun House. * Braun Strowman - Damien, the gas station attendant, said that "The Willow's Bell's Rattlesnake" Henry Smith, is a "monster among men", a nickname used to describe Braun Strowman's character. * 1969 Sharon Tate murders - Casey mentions that her inspiration on entering in her Law career, was on sighting the house where The Manson family murdered Sharon Tate and everyone that was inside. * Martin Luther King - The Barton and the Murray families, part of their Liars Club's movement, supported the cause of Martin Luther King of stopping racisim. * Betty Friedan, John Baldessari and Gloria Steinem - These celebrities, mentioned by Matthew Barton, read Thomas Barton's book "The Art of Corruption and Lies" and helped Thomas to support his movement. * Penny, "the Astounding Lizard Girl" - Barclay Wayans mentioned that Henry Smith made himself a forked tongue to mirror himself as a rattlesnake, in similar fashion as the tattoo artist hired by Penny's father did to his daughter in American Horror Story: Freak Show. Raised Questions * What would be the future of the Liars Club in the Firefly Summer Camp? * Is "The Willow's Bell's Rattlesnake" going to collect more fireflies to his jar? * Are Mary Jane's nightmares going to continue in her new summer job? Notes * Alan Fitzgerald and Richard Ramirez, credited as Main Characters, don't make an appearance in this chapter. ** Although he doesn't make an appearence physically, Ramirez appears as one of Mary Jane Fitzgerald's hallucinations. Category:Chapters Category:Don't Let the Darkness Consume You